


Ten Eyed Pavilion (*NSYNC)

by glittergelpen



Category: NSYNC
Genre: 'N Sync - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Boyband, Chris Kirkpatrick - Freeform, House of Leaves, I wrote this fic for me but y’all can read it if you want, JC Chasez - Freeform, Justin Timberlake - Freeform, Justin has a traveling reptile show, Lance Bass - Freeform, NSYNC - Freeform, Tim McGraw - Freeform, can I tag this as boyband? what do I tag this?, ill tag it Tim McGraw bc I want to, joey fatone - Freeform, my attempt at cheap 90s supernatural, this story also implies that Chris Kirkpatrick is living rent free in mark z danielewskis mind, yes the mark z danielewski AKA GENIUS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-14
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:35:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24706930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/glittergelpen/pseuds/glittergelpen
Summary: Justin has an ancient snake gods essence intertwined with his soul, Lance is an oracle with bad luck, Chris has access to a portal of pure nothingness and is a magical encyclopedia, Joey is an estranged fey who is only good at causing trouble, and JC? JC wishes he could be a normal singer, but being the most powerful siren on the east coast is his curse.You know that old book on the thrift store shelf? It's got at least one neon color, maybe a skeleton or a bloody cheerleader on the cover? The pages smell like teen wolf? With a title like “The Party Line” or “The Secret Circle” ? Imagine if you found one of those but it was just NSYNC. This is the cheesy, teenage, king soopers content you probably didn't know you needed. Yes. This is a needed venture.





	1. Up Against The Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What the fuck is editing?? Also heard about this thing called spell check but idk what that is, also my computer won't let me format this properly so enjoy that

##  **Friday Night**

Lance held the chain in his hand. The gift felt odd, heavy, like it wasn't supposed to be his. He knew it was a gift because it had been left with a two word note, _for Lance._ It had been sent to his P.O box, he was unsure of how long it had been there. 

He bunched it up in his hands, closed his eyes and sought it out. Going inside his own head he thought about the intention of the gift, the hands that held it, small details like this became a larger picture. 

A mop of blonde curly hair. His friend. The summer sun basking on him. He is at a flea market. Rows and rows of tents, early morning dwellers browsing the stalls. He's at a booth admiring the chain, picking it up, weighing it. 

_What are you thinking about Justin?_

And his friend's voice responded. 

_This reminds me of when we went to Hawaii with everyone._

_Why?_ Asked Lance. 

_In the gift shop, at the airport they had one that looked like this, you picked it up, I saw you._

_Thank you._

Lance always thanked them. Even though they weren't aware of him intruding their thoughts and emotions he didn't like giving them any negative feelings. 

Something was still wrong with the necklace. Lance tried again. Clasping his hands around the silver, taking in a shaky breath. He spoke out loud this time.

“Why are you here?”

Nothing.

“Do you need help?”

Nothing. 

“Where are you from?”

A lurching in Lance’s stomach. Like a descending pit, it twisted, swirled, it went on forever. It felt like a metaphysical bullet. Whatever spirit was on the necklace had something to say. 

The piece of silver started to burn in his hand, a rare occurrence. He opened his eyes, shaking his hand off, putting his lips to the wound. Being able to carry enough emotion to flow from the spirit world to his own body, it was impressive. 

He held the necklace to the light trying to see if he could spot anything strange about it. Then the phone rang. 

Lance pocketed the necklace and answered on the second ring. 

“Hello-”

“Lance!”

He felt a smile open up on his face.

“Yes, Hayley?”

In his head when Lance imagines Hayley, he sees her on top of a hill. There is a breeze, the sun is bright, if she was to reach up, her hands would touch the sky. Lance can not see her face. He knows what she looks like. Her eyes, her nose, but he can't picture it. Putting the entire image together is hard. 

“Get over here, we still need to watch Romeo and Juliet, my cousin let me borrow her tape, I will pop the popcorn without you”

“You're threatening me? Why are you threatening me?”  
Hayley is the only person who has thoughts Lance can not read. Feelings he can not control. Hayley is Lance’s best friend. 

“I’ll head over there now, see you in a few?”

“Yeah, just hurry, I hate being in the house alone” 

“I told you I’ll be there, the longer you stay on the phone the longer it takes for me to get there”

He was teasing her of course, something he was very good at. 

“Okay, okay I get it! I’ll hang up”

Lance gathered up his coat, the brown leather wallet, the apartment keys. He flicked off the lights, bolted the door and headed out into the cold. 

There was a sharpness to the cold. It cut him down to the bone and filled up his lungs. Each huff was like the cold trying to consume him from the inside. 

Lance only had four blocks to walk to Hayley’s. Today the walk felt extra long. He kept looking back to see how far he had gone, he was disappointed each time. 

When he got to Hayleys door he was exhausted, the cold seemed to run him down. Lifting his hand up to the doorbell, it felt limp almost. 

“Hey are you ready for…” Hayley’s words trailed off. Her face bunched up in concern. 

“Lance? Are you okay?” She said, helping pull him inside.

“Yeah, it's just really cold out there, made it hard to walk.” 

Hayley’s head tilted, confused. 

“It's not really that cold? Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you ate something funky?”

“No, I'm good, just let me warm up”

Hayley helped him take the jacket off, tossing it over the couch. 

“I'm gonna start making the popcorn, want some tea?”

“That'd be nice actually,” Lance said. 

In the kitchen Hayley put a pot of water to boil, her parents didn't have a kettle. 

“Country Peach Passion, Citrus Sunrise or Green Tea?” 

Lance scoffed. 

“Country Passion, what else?”

“You're right I should have known”

She opens the red painted cabinets, taking out two popcorn bags, and some M&M’s. Lance revels in this silence. No buzzing from other people's minds. Being with Hayley allows him peace without loneliness. He sits on the sofa, staring at the ceiling trying to pull himself together. 

Hayley set the microwave and got the ceramic bowl with the ladybugs on it. She turned to look at Lance again. He was pale, like sick pale. He was sitting there out of breathe, sweating heavily. 

“Do you need to take some Nyquil?”

He shook his head. 

She turned her attention back to the stovetop. Putting the tea bags in almost boiling water. Popped open the microwave bags, poured a bit of salt in the bowl. 

Lance was about to ask her if anything had happened at work, Fridays were busy at the corner CVS, she usually had a good story to tell. But his mouth wouldn't open. Gingerly, his fingers touched his lips. Tugging downwards. Pulling. They wouldn't budge. His cheeks hurt from how hard he was pulling. Skin already tender from his attempts to open his mouth. 

He called out to Hayley with a series of muffled sounds. 

“What's with the face?”  
Hayley said this was a light hearted tone, but another couple seconds looking at Lance told her he needed help. She set the popcorn on the coffee table and sat next to him. 

She didn't know what he was saying, He kept pointing to his lips, and making that muffled yelling. 

“Lance you have to calm down or else I can't help you”

This was the first time Lance wished that he could read her mind. 

“I'll go get you a pen, wait here okay?”

Hayley jogged off to her room. Grabbing her pink pom pom pen and the notepad she kept on her nightstand. She handed them off to Lance, who began writing. He ripped the note off for her to read. 

“Mouth won't open, call this number?”

Lance gave her the next note that had a number on it. 

“What is this? What is going on? Whose number is this? Did you, I don't know are you high right now?”

Lance shook his head with a ferocious effort. He wrote one word on the notepad.

“Chris? Who is Chris?”

Again on the notepad, in all caps, underlined, was the word call. Hayley let out an irritated breath. She wanted to help Lance but this all felt off. She went back into the kitchen where the water was now threatening to boil over the pot. Lance turned off the stove. Gave her an expectant glance when she hesitated with the dial pad. 

“Fine, just stop doing that”

She waved him off. Lance sat on the counter now, notepad ready. 

“This is the one and only Chirs Kirkpatrick”

“Hi, my names Hayley, I know Lance, he uh, asked me to call you for him, he cant talk, he's really pale, like he literally can't open his mouth” 

The response she got from the voice on the phone made her panic. Not the words that he said, but the tone.

“Ask him who he's talked to today and where he has been” 

Hayley relayed this to Lance. Lance scribbled down three words. 

“He says I'm the only one hes talked to today, he went to the post office, and he's at my house now” 

“Uhhh ask him who he has talked to talked to”

She did ask. Her mind was running over itself with worries. She had known Lance for maybe a year. He moved in down the block, took the same community college courses as her. She had never grown so close to someone so easily. Lance was never less than genuine with her. Him acting like this, this guy on the phone who didn't seem concerned about what she was concerned about. What didn't Hayley know about Lance?

“Lance is saying that, he, he talked to a necklace? Lance what does this say?”

“Can you read exactly what he wrote?” Chris said

“Yeah, okay he says ‘ _Justin sent necklace, necklace weird, talk to necklace’_ do you know what that means?”

Lance and Hayley we're sharing the phone now, each with one ear up to it. 

“Did anything bite?”

“What?” said Hayley.

“Ask him”

“Chris is asking if anything bit?”

To her surprise Lance understood, nodding his head yes. He took out the necklace from his pocket. He couldn't believe he forgot he had put it in there. Once it touched his skin it burned still. 

“He just took the necklace out of his pocket? I'm not sure what he’s trying to say”

“Hayley, you need to help get rid of the necklace, try holy water -”

“Holy water?”

“Help Lance! Destroy that thing!”

Chris kept talking but the line was fizzing out. The lights started to flicker, turning on and off. The two friends went to protect the other. Both now standing guard the phone forgotten, line dangling off the wall. There is a final click of electricity. 

They linked arms. Bracing themselves. 

“Chris said we needed holy water”

Her voice was a tiny whisper. She didn't dare disturb the stillness of the room. Lance knew holy water was to repel resentful, hurt spirits, and the occasional biblical demon. But he couldn't communicate with Hayley. Maybe he could communicate with the spirit. He almost did it before. He closes his eyes. Searching for the spirit. 

He didn't need the necklace. He knew the spirit was in the room. In order to read someone's thoughts, or to alter their emotions, Lance needed a way to connect to them. A place they visited often, their favorite t-shirt, a book they checked out at the library, really anything. But if he could look at someone, or if they were nearby, they could invade his space. If he wanted to lure the spirit out, he would have to fool it, invite it in. 

“There's...something here, I can feel it” 

Her voice, still so quiet. 

“We have a lot to talk about when we get out of here”

She whisper yelled that last bit. It brought a smile to Lance. He took in a grounding breath of air and upon release closed his eyes. No time passed. It was right in front of them. Lance couldn't open his eyes, a hand reached out touching his forehead. A ghost of a touch. Like a feather was being brushed across his skin. 

He was unable to move. Chirsitine noticed his stilled body. She nudged him, it devolved into her trying to move him from the position he was in. He was rigid, cemented to the floor. She knocked him over with a full force body slam into the kitchen counter. 

The spirit detached itself from Lance. His mouth opened, and he collapsed, he didn't realize how far it had dug into him. Hayley catches him, fumbling to keep him up. 

“Hayley run!” 

“I'm not leaving you in here alone!”

Hayley was pulled away from Lance. Dragged into the opposite wall, hitting the fridge. This force kept her pinned. She would crawl an inch, and be put back in the same spot. 

Lance was struggling to compose himself. Other spirits, they didn't like to touch you, they wanted you out of their space, spirits like this anyways. That's why when kids run out of a haunted house, they don't get killed, they just have to get out. 

He wished he had a way to talk to Chris. Chris dealt with this stuff on a daily basis. 

“If I close my eyes again it will catch me, its connecting to me from more than the necklace” 

“The guy on the phone said to destroy the necklace, we should just-” 

Hayley was slammed again before she could finish her sentence. The spirit started to get more irate. It knocked the tea off the stove, most of it getting on Lance. A lukewarm liquid now. The cabinets all burst open, the contents thrown with enough velocity to end up on the other side of the house. 

The kitchen and living room was all one open space. Separated only by the counter that ran around the kitchen. A hall stretched to each side, this is where the spirit went next. 

“Why is that, that thing having a tantrum in my house!”

“I don't know! I don't know! It wants something from me? It followed me here, and it's trying to get in my head”  
“Let it in then!” Hayley said. 

She was right. It was the only way he could see out of the situation. 

Closing his eyes again he was greeted with the spirit. A hand on his forehead. This time he tried to reach out as well. Pulling a bit of his soul out to match the spirit, he wasn't strong enough to simply try bending its will. It had breached his consciousness. Lance writhed on the floor in pain. Hayley, free of the spirits' bounds, tried to stop him. 

In his head Lance could feel the spirit wandering deeper. He closed his hands into fists, and inhaled. He stopped moving again, but Hayley could tell it was different. She backed down. 

Lance tried to veer the creature off its path. He moved that slice of his soul, he tried to circle around it, for a moment he did successfully pull it back. He tried again. When he touched it this time, he tried to _feel_ it. A wave of emotions overcame him as he went racing with the spirit. Those emotions were a literal wave though. Lance kept bringing forth emotions, using the vulnerable piece of soul he had separated from the whole of him. 

They blanketed over the spirit slowing it down, and it guided him to a visual. This spirit was contorted. A mess of red and orange hues, its body a long stretch of limb and arms. He knew what it looked like, he had to imagine it. He had to imagine grabbing it, stopping it and containing it back in the necklace. It was stuck in there before, it could get stuck again. 

Lance felt like he could do it, he had slowed it down a lot, Even pulled it up. It managed to wriggle free of him each time. About to do it again when there was a sharp pain. Unlike anything he had ever felt before. There were no words to describe the sensation. The spirit had found what it wanted. Lance’s seal. 

Lance got angry. He had been afraid before. His seal was something sacred, it was his right to his brothers, his testimony to life, and the thing that let him live that life. A seal that balanced him, and in Lance’s eyes completed him. 

Hayley had turned her attention away from Lance and onto the necklace. Under the sink was a hammer, she went to work trying to break the chain links apart. The counter began to have cracks. Hayley picked up the chain, bundling it together hoping it would be easier to hit. Lance was still on the floor. He would mumble, but what made her pause mid swing was glowing. 

In the darkness of the house Lance was glowing. A bright golden light. It radiated from inside of him. She saw Lance all lit up, screamed. A deep guttural scream, that echoed in her body and rattled the bones of the house. Hayley did not hesitate, she went back to her vivacious swings. More frantic than before. 

The spirit had unleashed the other half of Lance’s abilities. The half that had no self control, that ate up people's feelings because it just liked to be bigger. That had a consume and destroy agenda on others' psyches. 

Lance felt that energy escaping. It had been doormat in his soul for so long but it howled now. Unsure of what to do Lance fed it the anger he was holding. A surge of rage filled Lance like an overflowing sink. It ate the spirit. Teeth sunk into the wretched creature, anger always had teeth. There was still a contest. But Lance was bigger. He was also losing it. The power came at the cost of his control and he didn't have time. 

Hayley finally broke one of the links. An indescribable sound escaped Lance, one that was not made by him. The spirit had left but Lance was still glowing. Hayley kneeled on the floor, using her last resort. A cup of cold water she splashed on his face. Lance had no reaction. 

He needed to fix his seal. There was no way it would be as strong as what Chris could do. With the last of his empathic strength he summoned his friends, the ones who had been there when he got his seal, he took what they had given him and placed it over his seal. It was not a traditional binding, which meant it wasn't built to last. But Lance needed to be more himself than anything. 

Hayley watched as the glowing faded. Lance's eyes opened, there was a burst of light that emitted from them. But that settled. When he opened his mouth to speak another spout of light. Then the gradualty sputter and fade. Lance felt awful, his seal was worse than he thought. This much energy was still out, trying to find a place to stay. 

Once he had moved Chrsitne hugged him. Her shoulders slumped, whatever had visited them was gone. She took a true taste of air, stood up and flicked the lights on. 

“Still want some tea?” 

✯✯✯

They sat on the front stoop. The city felt so vast after having been trapped in the house. Lance brought a mug to his mouth and took the last drag of tea. 

“I think if you had tried to tell me any of that before tonight I wouldn't have believed it”

Lance shook his head.

“I would ever expect you to” he said 

“What are you going to do now? Go see Chris so he can give you a new seal?”

“No, I have to find Justin. He gave me the necklace, when I used my powers that first time with the necklace, that spirit was able to reach him, catch his scent”

Hayley looked off at the moon. Trying to find solace in its milky rays. 

“ How come it didn't go after him first then?”

“Well Justin, and JC and Joey, they don't really have an ability like me and Chris. So the way each of them interacts with the world is different. Justin would have to present himself as part human, or not human to be have another supernatural recognize him”

She laughed, short and gruff. 

“What you just said, it makes sense to me after talking to you and I don't think I like that”

“Welcome to the party” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hayley Kiyoko bc wlw and mlm SOLIDARITY BABY


	2. Giddy Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Once again sorry if the formatting is weird, idk why but my computer really doesn't like using ao3's editor
> 
> update: i fixed both chapters :)

## Saturday Evening 

The heat was visible this time of year. Lines of heat wavering in the distance, it made you feel a certain type of way, like you were losing it a little. When you pedaled a bike, if your leg grazed those spokes, boy did it burn. I know this because I was pedaling my bike, and I kept burning my leg. I was only half a block away from Muareen’s house. We were meeting up with Ruby, and Michelle. Fireworks, greasy food, and fairground coasters, it was going to be a good night. 

I pump the brakes once I'm in the driveway. Next door is Bennet, a very attractive soon to be senior who I never quite have the nerve to speak to. He was talking to his dad on the porch. Neither of them acknowledged my presence as I made my way to the front. 

“Christina, come on, I brought a blanket and everything let's get out of here!” 

I knocked three times. From inside I could hear the scuttle of Christina's parents trying to collect themselves. There was a ghost of a whisper as Mrs.Rivers told her daughter to stay out of trouble and not to ‘ _talk to that Kevin boy that came around here’._ When Christina got to the door I had a big smile on. 

“Bye girls! Have a good time!” 

I thanked Mrs.Rivers in a shout and Christina waved back at her. 

“So,” I said, turning to face Christina as we went down the porch stairs, “Kevin came here last week?”

“Ugh, you heard that? He came trying to be romantic, climbing up the tree in the back to get in my room, but he ended up in my parents window and they lost it”

“Why didn't you tell me at school yesterday?”  
“Well it seemed kinda trivial next to what you were going through”

She pulled her bike from the side of the house.

“A break up? Come on, they happen all the time. Besides we all knew me and AJ weren't going to last long, we’re in highschool”

“Doesn't mean it doesnt suck”

I sighed, “Thanks Christina”

We headed off west to the carnival. 

✯✯✯

Once on the grounds Christina took her bike lock out and struggled to get it unhinged. I was looking for the other girls, we all agreed to meet at the gates. The crowd was massive though, this was the last day of the carnival. 

But then I saw it. It, as in Michelles pink teddy bear backpack. I pointed her out to Christina and we bounded over to her. 

“Christina! Britney!”

Michelle wrapped herself around us. She smelled like cheap glitter perfume and citrus dryer sheets. She leaned back to assess me. I could see her mind running some sort of analytic scan against my outfit. 

“Not shabby for the first night out after a break up”

“I really wish you guys would stop talking about it”  
Christina shot me with her all knowing, down to earth expression she was prone to using. 

“You won't talk about it though”

“It's a fresh wound,” I said. Four days fresh, flowers wouldn’t wilt in that time. 

“We already doing the AJ debrief?”

The voice belonged to Ruby. Another round of hugs and quick greetings. 

“Britney, we can see you off your rhythm, it's alright, nine months is a long time, that's like 270 days babe”

Ruby said as we passed through gates, Christina plucked up a map of the fair grounds. 

“I'll admit, that being dumped in the cafeteria was not a pleasant experience, but I didn't think me and AJ were gonna last forever”

“But you liked him” Michelle said

“Actually she loved him” Christina was nimble on this remark. For the first time that day I felt a rush to my cheeks, a little sting of static in my body. Like the feeling of when one of the emergency broadcasts comes on the TV and gives us bad news about the weather. 

“Look, I propose you find another guy, forget about AJ, and go on the ferris wheel”

Ruby said, pointing to the ride that was in the center of the fair. 

“What? Isn't it too soon or something?”

“You don't need to wear black and mourn him, this aint the 1800s or whatever, it's not even serious, just fun flirting”

Michelle said. I knew she had a point but it was hard to see. AJ saying he wanted to break up was unexpected, finding out that it was because he had feelings for someone else was worse. She hadn't thought anything was different or off about AJ, which made her wonder just how strong his feelings were for her in the first place. 

The girls had already diverged on another train of thought. Christina was quick to draw a plan of action with an eyebrow pencil Michelle had. The last destination on the map was the ferris wheel. 

“Maybe you can build up to it Britney”

“Okay, look, I will agree to going on the ferris wheel with a guy, but you all have to promise to not accidentally shove me into anyone”

My friends cheered. I'm sure they just wanted to see me in a better mood, but I also wanted to get rid of the terrible feeling in my stomach. Perhaps actively trying to pull myself out of the brooding stage might do a little good. 

The sun was still up, the lines were slightly too long, and the clattering of people should all chalk up to be an unpleasant experience. Upsides to carnivals are friends, super salty popcorn, and all the colors. The ruby red light bulbs, all the staff wore ridiculous hats. Some were jester hats with little jingle bells on the ends, a few with spinner tops, and lots of bedazzled wizard hats. Even if I felt like my skin was sliding off me from the heat I was happy just being there in the silliness of it all. Especially with people I cared about and who cared about me. 

When I got off the _Round Up,_ the first ride we went on, I wasn't even thinking about AJ anymore. Not to mention how the _Troika, Tilt-a-Whirl_ and _Top Spin,_ where all great warm up rides to. There was an incident with a boy from Lake high in the _Troika_ line. It was going fairly well, we shared a common interest in _Stargate_ and the _X-Files._ I was leaning my arm on the railing for too long and when I went to move up I ended up bumping heads with him because my arm was asleep. Which after the fact, _very funny,_ in the moment, _very terrifying._ His coke got everywhere and god was he pissed. 

After we were off the ride we headed for one of the concession stands. From the back of the line I could see Bennet. Christina's attractive neighbor and the guy who sat one seat left and two up in my english class. Ruby pointed at him immediately. 

“You have always thought he was cute! What better time to talk to him than now!”

Christina put her arms around me, as if to trap me in the line. 

“A random guy from another school who I’ll never speak to again is fair game, but he’s working right now and Christina you live next to Bennet, and I sit next to him-”

At this Michelle dramatically fell into me, a hand over her forehead.

“Seatmates destined for love!”

“Oh my god, please never say seatmates again” 

I say through a laugh. 

The four of us bicker about this as the line moves. Before I know it I'm standing in front of him with nothing but a plastic barrier between our faces. Christina is still hanging off my shoulder, she has a mischievous smile on, but to anyone not her best friend it is simply a smile. 

“Hey Christina, what can I get for you?”

“Hi Bennet,” 

Christina is unusually loud and I cringe a bit. I grit my teeth from the nerves. Maybe I used to have a crush on Bennet last year, and maybe Christina knew that, (she knew), and maybe I was being too sensitive or maybe my friends were pushing me too hard but looking at Bennet was even harder. 

“We’ll take a plate of funnel cake fries, two large sprites and anything else?”

She looks at me. I falter with my words.

“Uh, yes, no, no we’re good, that's everything-”

I turn to face our other two friends. 

“Wait do you guys want anything?”

They nod no. My cheeks efficiently warmed up and my hands shaking I give him fifteen dollars and he slips away to prepare our feast. Christina leans into my ear. 

“Okay, I'm so sorry, I thought maybe you'd want to talk to him but we are both bombing out there”

I whisper shout back.

“Christina this not a comedy club but you are right this is awkward, and like-”

I'm shut up by Bennet's sudden return and his outstretched arm that is begging me to take my change. He has this knowing grin on his face that I can't muster to return. 

“Hey, enjoy the food Sonja, I’ll see you guys around” 

Ruby snags the food and Christina waves him a goodbye. Michelle is the sports announcer as she breaks down the play. 

“Pro’s, he is cute, and he definitely picked up whatever vibe you had. He didn't seem to mind. Con, he doesn't know your name” Michelle said.

Ruby held a funnel fry to my face and I opened my mouth for her. 

“Pro,” I say “the funnel cake is good” 

My voice cracks just the tiniest bit. The antics having worn off. 

“Here come on, let's go in there”

I lift my head to where Christina is pointing. 

“ _Just Radical Tremendous Reptiles?_ ”

The way Ruby’s says it explains the weird mix of amusement and pitiful feelings I already have about the tent just from the sign. I look over my shoulder to see Bennet at the stand helping another customer. I either sit at one of the tables near the concessions, or I go into this ridiculous show tent and get a few laughs. 

“Maybe they’ll have a keychain I’ll like”

“There’s the Britney we know!” 

Michelle leads me into the tent, sipping from the sprite as she marches in. The inside has this wild west theme that I actually find impressive for a travelling carnival. An array of glass tanks and greenery envelopes the space. Even with all the heat lamps, the fans and cooler that was roaring kept it rather cool. A bit humid, but better than outside. 

“Hello and welcome! This is the radical world of reptiles!”

From behind a stack of what looked to be lizard tanks came a boy with a curly mop of hair and a genuine gleam of fun in his words. All three girls ignored him, intentionally leaving me to speak.

“Hi, we’re just looking around, you don't have to worry about us”

“I’m not worried about you at all, but I have ensure that all my visitors leave feeling better than when they came in”

I perked up. 

“Your visitors?”

He vigorously nodded, sending his curls bouncing. I took note of the cowboy get up he had on, he had the hat in his hand. I was pretty sure it wouldn't fit him with his hair. 

“My visitors, all these creatures are under my care”

“Aren't you a little young to be owning a reptile exhibit?” 

I was standing with him now. My friends milling about the tent on their own. 

“I don't think you'd still be here talking to me if I was any older”

True, he was definitely my age. As soon as he said that I could feel my friends eyes burning holes in my back. 

“Maybe you're just lucky I’m talking to you at all”

“I am nothing but lucky”  
This he said with pure confidence. I raised my chin at him in challenge. 

“Can you prove it?”

He scoffed, a fake expression of hurt on his face. God, I hope I can keep this up. 

“Of course I can. Watch this”

He directed me over to the merchandise counter. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out some dice. The dice had no numbers but rather symbols that I realized were playing cards. 

“These are poker dice, you call any hand of face cards, and I’ll roll it” 

I got what he was saying. I picked up one of the five die. There was only an ace, king, queen, jack, and ten represented. The least probable would be to get the dice to all land on the same card. 

“Can you roll me all jacks?”  
He held his hand up. 

“If I get five jacks will you hang out with me for a bit? Maybe even watch the fireworks with me?”

I didn't expect him to say that and I felt a giddy flush in my cheeks. I nod, not wanting to stumble on my words. He picks up the dice and delivers them to the glass display counter. Five blue jacks stare up at me. 

“How did you do that?”

“I told you I'm lucky”

I shake my head.

“Yeah, but thats like, what 1 in 1000? If there's five side to a dice and-”

He chuckles. 

“Doesn't matter when you’re lucky. I’ll do it again. Call out another hand.” 

Now Christina, Michelle and Ruby had joined us. 

“Can you get a straight?”

Ruby said, thoroughly interested in his little dice. 

He threw them out and there was a king, queen, jack and ten, each in its correct place. We started calling out random combinations of cards and each one he got perfectly in the order we said. I grabbed his wrist, opened his palm trying to see if he had some weird magician's device hidden in his sleeve. 

Christina suggested rigged dice. But she tried to roll them and nothing happened. Michelle wagered some funnel fries. She lost. I made him do it with his eyes closed, behind his back, his hat covering his face, and on the floor. 

“Hey we’re headed out, you staying?” 

Michelle said. Christina and Ruby behind her already on their way out of the tent. I turned to glance at... _shit,_ what was his name? 

“What’s your name?”

“Justin, you?”

His voice is a bit softer, quite almost, like he only wants me to hear.  
“Britney”

I hold his gaze for another brief moment. 

“I’ll stay here with Justin, we’ll meet you guys at the ferris wheel”

Christina flashed a fiery satisfaction of approval. 

“You know you haven't been introduced to all my friends Britney”

He gives me a tour of the tent. The whole time he is endearing and sweet. Showing off an aggressive turtle that likes to bite people, a brightly colored corn snake that he called Captain. A mwanza flat-headed agama which took me three tries to pronounce. 

“This is my favorite, it's a blue racer snake. I call him JC but I’m not sure if he likes that. He’s got that really nice baby blue stripe-” 

Justin had opened the latch to the tank but was frozen in place. His hand hovering over the open space. 

“Justin?”  
His head snapped at me, rigid in its movement. Justin’s eyes rippled, like a million tiles were flipping over. That glorious blue turned emerald green. I could not break eye contact with him. I was begging my body to move. The green moved like smoke clouds, I could see nothing in them. Nothing human. His pupils were like a tunnel stretching on forever. The skin around his eyes started to change, dark green and black scales that shimmered in the light. The scales feathered out like a mask. 

I took a step backward. My hands trying to grasp anything to put between us. The cardboard cut out of some canyons was not very helpful. Justin moved it back. He was staring down at me, only inches keep us apart. 

“You like to gamble?”

I said nothing.

“Britney, I’ll cut you a deal. Come sit down.” 

The way he said my name more harsh made me cringe. Justin walked over to the counter again. This time he pulled out a stool from the other side and brought it out for me to sit on. Reluctant, I sat down. 

Justin reached into his back pocket and brought forth a deck or cards. Or I thought they were normal playing cards until I noticed how big they were. He unwrapped the bandana they were in, and revealed tarot cards. 

“You know how to play?”  
I shook my head. 

“It’s easy. But if I win I want ten”

“Ten what?”  
I question him.

“Ten years. It's been forever since I've eaten, I’m starving, I win, I get ten years off your life, pretty small price, and you, well what do you want?”

“What if I don't play?”

I stand up, having found a dose of courage. This is also when I felt a sensation down by my feet. A snake. All the other snakes in the tent had escaped their cages and had started making their way to me. 

“You're playing, quitting isn't an option-”

“She doesn't even know how to read Justin, besides I thought you went to rehab for the gambling addiction” 

From the entrance of the tent stood another boy. Blonde highlights and a loose leather jacket, which was as crazy as Justin’s scales in this heat. He walked past the snakes, which hissed as he ignored them. Once at the counter with me he extended his hand.  
“Lance Bass, long time friend of Justin’s”

I shook his hand, but was unable to say anything. Lance gave his attention back to Justin. 

“Justin, there’s a spirit inside of you, maybe it broke your seal, maybe it only broke it partly, but it's using your strength and trying to control you. You’re doing very well, I can tell that you are still in there. I want to help”

Lance had said things that I would usually sweep under the rug as personal differences, and a little bit of nonsense. But I had also just seen Justin’s face transform into a snake like creature, who threatened to take years off of my life, and used his travelling reptile show to scare me into using tarot cards. 

There was a low breathy sound Justin was making. It made goosebumps pop up along my skin. All the snakes on the ground started to make similar sounds. 

“Defensive hissing, little snakes do this to scare big snakes-”

Lance said. I flinched when the scales on Justin’s face flared up. 

“Stop talking like I’m a dog!”

“Then let me help, let her go and I’ll play with you”

“I want pure human Lance, not freaky deaky oracle, if you stay, she plays” 

He gestured to the tarot again. Lance shook his head, and eyed me now.

“Don't ever make deals with Justin, he is good at tampering with fate, and he also has an ancient essence of a serpent that bound with his soul during childbirth, I would say its a can of worms but can of snakes is more fitting-”

“Enough with the banter Lance!”

“Justin,”

“Stop saying my name!”

Justin slammed a fist down on the counter, shattering the glass and leaving cuts all over his hands. He groaned in frustration, hunching over onto his knees, like he was trying to contain his anger. Lance was fast. He snagged the tarot deck, the bandana and then me. I had to stomp on that corn snake on the way out of the tent. Once outside Lance let go of my arm and we kept running.

“Sorry about dragging you out of there but Justin-”

Lance was cut off by a pissed off Justin lunging out of the tent with a scream. People parted way for him and he was beelinging it for us.  
“You don't happen to have a bottle of fox piss on you?” 

Lance said to me as we ducked and weaved our way through the arcade tent. I knocked my hip into a _Capcom_ machine, if I wasn't running for my life and powering through with adrenaline I probably would have been much more upset about the eventual bruise. 

We ducked under some tent tarp and were in the open again. Justin’s frantic yelling, asking people in the arcade if anyone had ran through, was close behind. Both of us were out of breath but Lance pointed to the ferris wheel. 

“That stupid ferris wheel has been a really big deal tonight”

I say through huffs of breath. As we rushed past a bottle toss booth I snatch two of the prize baseball caps and toss one to Lance. At the base of the ferris wheel I could see Michelle, Ruby and Christina still eating the last bits of funnel cake. They were sitting on the railing, and shouted after me as I ran past.

“That's not Justin!”

“Britney!”

Soon more people were trying to push us back and telling us to wait in line. Lance and I kept trying to apologize but the commotion was getting louder. Once at the front of the line one of the employees saw us frazzled and tried to stop us. Lance tried talking to them but I could see Justin had spotted us. He was already shoving people in the line. 

I kneed the employee in the balls, and shoved Lance into the open pod. I had my foot inside but was propelled forward by Justin slamming into me. One arm was around my shoulders and his other arm on one of the ferris wheel poles. Now multiple employees were attempting to calm us down. All of us were shouting. Lance was trying to help me stay in the cart, bracing himself on the table in the middle.

With all my strength I took the arm Lance was holding onto and launched my elbow into Justin’s nose. His arms dropped off me, he stumbled into the pod and Lance went to keep him settled in the seat. I shut the little door and looked for Christina. Her, and the girls had gotten onto the platform, they were arguing with the employee I had confronted. 

“Christina!”

I yelled for her so loudly, I had my hand against someone's shoulder, the tag on their shirt read manager, and I just knew I was in such deep shit when I got home. Nevermind the apparent sepreht boy. 

Christina looked to me. I pointed up. Her head tilted to the side in question. But I knew she’d understand. She always understood. I would’nt be asking her to do something so stupid if I didnt need her to. I could see her click together what I was asking. Ruby and Michelle had got the message as well. The three worked together to wrestle the employee out of the way, to the operating board they were standing in front of. It was a stretch but Christina hit the big green button that had lit up when I shut the door.  
We were going up. Justin was desperately trying to leave, Lance was holding him down and I was helping. If Lance wanted him on the ferris wheel, he was staying on the ferris wheel. We were half way up when Justin stopped trying to escape and started panicking. The scales on his face were still the deep colors but they seemed to be flashing almost. Like they were getting lighter. 

“Calm down! Justin, please for the love of-”

The pod rocked. The operator had stopped the ride and we were right at the top. 

“How do we get him back to how he was?”

I said. Lance explained that Justin had a seal over this part of his soul, and another spirit was tampering with the seal. Lance would have to travel into Justin’s psyche to fix it. I wanted to scream, or laugh, or anything. But I asked Lance how I could help. 

“We have to keep him up here. Snakes don't like the height, his body is panicking. But I'll basically be passed out when I'm in there”

“How am I supposed to stay up here?”

“Stop conspiring against me!”

Justin didn't get a chance to say more. Lance placed his palm on Justins forehead. A bright light, and then Lance collapsed. Justin thrashed around, battling with what seemed himself. Then we started to move. We hadn't gone more than a foot when I leaned over the edge of the cart and screamed out onto the platform.

“If you move us again I’ll jump! I’ll fucking jump!” 

The line had been dispersed by security, a group of employees ushering out the people from the bottom pods. We abruptly stopped again. Swaying harsh to the left. Sending me toppling into Justin. The two of us landed on Lance who was slumped halfway on the floor. 

I got up and kept yelling nonsense down below. I stood on the seat, and held onto the bars that caged the pod, teetering with the cart. Michelle, Ruby and Christina were standing at the closest concession stand, the one that sold ice cream cones and corndogs. They stood bundled together, eyes on me. How was I going to explain this to them? 

Christina had a pained expression. She was so concerned and I wanted so badly to tell her I was okay. 

Justin tugged on my shirt. Eyes wide and watering. 

“You can get down, its okay” 

✯✯✯

“We really can't thank you enough”

Lance looked exhausted, like he hadn't eaten or slept in a long time. He said it was just because he had used so much energy trying to fix Justin’s seal. It took such a visible toll on him it was concerning. Even though I didn't know him well, he had saved my life. Or I was fairly certain he did. 

“I didn't really have much of a choice back there. Thank you for, whatever it was you did, it was...impressive?”

I said not quite sure what to say to him about the night's events. 

“Yeah, his men in black memory wipe always comes in handy”

Justin appeared from his trailer with a duffle bag. We were in the employee area of the parking lot. 

“I have explained so many times-”

“Yeah, yeah, it's not a memory wipe you just change the way people feel about the memory. But it still works the same, how are you to feel about a memory you think is a dream?”

Justin said this in the same way that you ask a teacher in class a question you know they can't actually answer. 

“Well we have a long ride ahead of us. If you need anything I’m sure you can call Justin” 

With this Lance and I said goodbye, he slipped into the car. It left Justin to awkwardly try to apologize to me for about the fifth time since we had gotten down from the ferris wheel. 

“I am sorry. Like so sorry. Unbelievably sorry”

“I would say not to worry about it but kinda changed the way I look at life and everything I believe to be true about the world” 

I said in a teasing tone. But there was a hint of truth, a bit of sullen taste in my words. 

“Promise I’m not usually like that. I even started the traveling show to try to get better at controlling my…”

He trailed off, his mouth open and hands searching for the right thing to say. 

“To control the snake essence or whatever it is that's like connected to your soul?”  
“Yes! That!” 

Another juncture of silence. 

“I’m having a friend of mine who runs an animal sanctuary come to pack up my tent and take care of everyone until we get this sorted out. Told the carnival I’m having a family emergency, which I am, but look, the point is, once you know about this kinda stuff you see it everywhere. It's almost like it seeks you out even.” 

He reached into his short pocket and took out a pen. The cowboy get-up was gone, replaced by a black t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts. He scribbled something down on a business card and handed it to me. The card was for his reptiles, a picture of him below the _Just Radical Tremendous Reptiles_ text. 

“That's my pager number, and also the address of our friend Chris, when I’m not traveling I stay with him. You should call if you need anything or just want to talk”

There was a quick hug between us and then him and Lance were gone. Christina came up to me, both of our bikes in her arms. Ruby and Michelle behind her.

“You know you have to call him at some point right?”

Michelle said, a smile pressed into the words. Christina handed the bike off to me. 

“The fireworks don't start for another twenty minutes. We can ride down to the creek, watch them there.”

“Not a bad idea Christina”

Ruby scoffed at us.

“So we just aren't going to talk about tonight?”  
Christina gave me a sympathetic look and said; 

“It's a fresh wound”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one is a little longer than I had planned for it to be but like really who cares that much about a stupid NSYNC fan fiction (aka I did like bare minimum editing)


	3. Here We Go

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I promise you shall begin to see the bros of NSYNC soon

##  **Sunday Morning**

Lance drove while Justin muched down on a rainbow sprinkle donut from Winchells. They were on a long empty backroad. It had been nothing but empty fields for about an hour now. Hot, muggy weather that Lance found comforting after being stuck in the cold for the past couple of months. The windows were down and the music was loud. The radio started blurting out an advert for some nationwide singing contest. Justin turned the volume dial down. 

“What exactly is the plan?”

Justin asked. It wasn't that Justin doubted Lance, but he wasn't one to lead their supernatural high jinks. If anything Lance was usually the voice of reason when it came to demon chasing. 

“Honestly I’m not sure. I knew that the spirit would be after you. I awakened it, and when I was able to get it off me it connected to you from the necklace. I’m pretty sure it was because I sought out your thoughts from the necklace. But now that I think about it, maybe it's just cause you came into contact with it? But it definitely has picked up the scent of our seal”

“That's weird though right? I mean don't you talk to all kinds of spirits all the time?”

Lance hummed in response. Justin through a mouthful of donut said, 

“Okay so the options are what? We go down to Miami and find Joey, which would be hard because of you know the whole pixie thing, we drive up the coast to JC, or we head to Philly where Chris is”

The car swerved a bit, Lance turned a startled eye to Justin. 

“You _know_ where Chris is!”

Justin returned Lance's look of perplexity. He raised his donut to his mouth, taking another small bite. 

“Do you not know where Chris is?”

“He never tells me! He refuses and I don't want to read his mind, it's weird doing that to friends!” 

“Maybe its because youre like a spooky magnet” 

Justin said trailing off, trying to avoid Lance’s gaze. 

“I am not a spooky magnet!”

“Okay, stop yelling, and dude you totally are, are you kidding? Seven months ago when we all met up in Colorado to take lessons from the dreamwalker what happened?”

Lance sighed. 

“A pack of miniature banshees swarmed the house we were staying at and Joey had to do some weird fey ritual”

“And when JC had beef with a werewolf?”

Lance slammed his hand downs on the steering wheel. 

“Fine, you're right, I am not the best for this stuff, but I don't like being left out of the loop”

“There's no loop Lance, relax”

They shared a moment of silent understanding. 

“But my original question, where are we going?”

“Well JC is, if this spirit gets him, the damage will be...bad. Chris can basically take out anything that comes at him easy. But JC will have zero influence over something like this.”

“I guess you're right”

Justin said. The boy didn't like to admit it, but JC was a type of being unlike anything he could fathom. Justin had been born with his disposition, while JC chosen. Others might have viewed JC’s abilities as a gift, but to JC they were only a burden. But there was still another one of their friends to worry about. 

“We getting Joey then? If he can cast a spell or something before JC opens his mouth we have a winning fight”

From the corner of his vision he could see Lance running all the possible scenarios. Justin was willing to go anywhere, do anything, he just needed to know _what._

“We can't do this without Chris. JC is powerful and if this spirit gets to him we’ll need Chris’s help, he’s the only one of who knows what he’s doing”

“Maybe we split up, I get Joey, you get Chris, and then we all head for JC”

Lance didn't like the idea of splitting up. While the spirit had not touched Justin's seal it had weakened him. On the other hand it seemed unlikely that the spirit would go after Justin or himself again. It had three other targets to try. He teetered on the thought. 

“Why don't we just call Chris?” 

Lance felt so stupid, he had been so wrappd up in trying to save Justin and track the spirit he forgot to check back in with Chris. At the next gas station Lance and Justin huddled together over the payphone. It rang twice before Chris answered. 

“This is the one and only Chirs Kirkpatrick, you've called the supernatural hotline, for hauntings-”

“Spare us the sales pitch Chris”

“Lance! What the fuck happend, are you okay?”

Justin leaned in closer and made Lance flinch when he loudly shouted ‘Hi Chris’ into the phone. 

“Justin?”

“Look, it's a long story man, but the other guys are in danger, a spirit caught scent of our seal and is headed after us. Lance was able to get me out of harm's way”

Chris sputtered out his next words. 

“Specifically our seal? Weird, messed up spirit, but me and Joey haven't seen it-”

Justin and Lance turned to lock eyes with each other. Both saying the same thing.

“You're with Joey?!”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This ones a little shorter but did I update. I also went back to the previous chapters and did some heavy editing.


	4. Celebrity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hmmmmmmmmm things are happening I promise

* * *

##  **Sunday Morning (still)**

Chris sighed over the phone before continuing. 

“Yeah, he accidentally figured out how to cast dark fey spells. We have a bigger problem now though, if we haven't met this spirit of yours, then it's on its way to JC, we’ll meet up there. Also get your seals healed properly, Lance probably did some hack job”

“Hack job or not what other options are there? Like you just so happen to know some incredibly powerful magic user in Arkansas?”

Lance’s voice had a bit of bite to it, insulted by Chris’s sarcastic jab. 

“Her names Lupe Leon, you can summon her with an enchantress circle, a rose hexbag, and an Our Virgen Guadalupe Candle, she can do it, probably better than I can-”

The payphone started beeping and I started to wrap up the conversation. 

‘And call JC, I havent been able to reach him for about a week, make sure he isnt dead, dont fuck this up, I swear to god, I’ll see you in a day or two, call when you have your seals fixed, ”

Dial tone. Joey was still unconscious, limbs sprawled out on the floor. He thought maybe he should move his friend over to the motel bed but decided it was too much work. In the bathroom he began to clean himself up. Gently dabbing water onto the cuts across my palms. The blood dripped black, it was thick and gushing. Moving on its own accord. 

Chirs went digging in the duffle bag sitting on the toilet seat. He found his bandages and began wrapping. The bandages were regular practice, but whatever the collision course that was the previous night was not. Chris had never dealt with a magic that opposed his. He worried that maybe the fey he had encountered had lied, but all of them? If what he had fought last night was a fey, then maybe he was a fey as well? That creature last night was so far the only supernatural creature to faze him. 

Chris tried everything, everyone. He hunted down ancient vampire packs, spent a summer in Iceland with a herd of fairies, he endured a winter in the Rockies with a witches coven. He had spoken to anyone who would listen to his questions. 

He had spent years searching for any sort of answer to what he was. He looked human. He thought, felt, slept and ate like one to. But his blood ran black, the portal he reigned control of lead to a place of pitch darkness. When Joey claimed to have summoned some sort of energy sprite Chirs came rushing over to help. 

To find that he was going to have to struggle with the creature Joey had summoned was baffling. It threw him for a loop and it almost cost him his life. It had been a long time since he didn't know what to do. Since something had challenged him. 

“Boo!” 

Chris jumped at Joey's sudden appearance. 

“I hate it when you do that!” 

Chris said splashing some water from the sink onto Joey. 

“How long was I asleep?”

Joey asked.

“It's only been seven hours, clean up took awhile”

“Well I'm hungry as shit, there's a diner like a block from here let's go”

Chris scoffed a bit at Joey. 

“No way, you have to shower first, you’re covered in fey blood, you’re already in deep shit”

Joey said nothing as Chris pushed past him. Chris raised an eyebrow but didn't mention Joey's sour mood, or at least he wasn't going to mention it yet. 

“Justin and Lance called, a spirit is on our scent, I think it already would have gotten to the two of us if it wanted, which means its got eyes for JC”

“Another day in the fucking life I guess” 

“We should head out as soon as we can, we can at least try to keep some sort of normalcy” 

Chris said. 

“Normalcy? Like what happened last night?”

Joey stood expectantly, waiting for Chris’s response. Chris struggled to find the words, mumbling half sounds instead. 

“You’re being weird, is it because you almost lost that fight last night with that fairy-”

Chris threw his arms in the air. 

“That wasn't just any fairy! I don't know what or even how you got it here, into this fucking dimension”

A thick silence between the friends, which for the two of them was unusual. Joey turned the shower on and Chris opened up the blinds. The sunlight warm, bright, caring. About ten minutes passed as Joey got ready. Chris angrily pouting in the arm chair by the door. It bothered him that Joey was trying to be so nonchalant about the previous night's incident. 

“Are we going or what?”   
  
Chris followed Joey out the door. The short walk to the dinner eased up the tension though. The knot of anger Chirs had was gone. 

The bell above the door jingled as they walked through. Lacy white window curtains, red booths, dessert cases at the counter. The waitress that helped them didn't bother a glance, she handed them menus, asked for their drink order and disappeared behind the kitchen doors. Chris knew he wanted a short stack with a side of hash browns and a chocolate milkshake. But Joey took his time perusing the menu. 

“Okay, so you had a point saying I was being weird. I shouldn't have been so pissed off at you. It was unfair of me. But Joey, you gotta understand how powerful that beast was”

Joey didn't look up from his menu search. 

“I have been on the hunt for any clues to what I am my entire life, a long fucking time, and I have never met a beast I couldnt tame” 

Joey rolled his eyes but responded. 

“Stop calling it a beast. We both know it was a fairy. A bad one.” 

“Now you’re the one being stupid, no need to be gloomly”

Chris said, poking Joey's arm with his fork. 

“I’m the one who summoned it. What if I do it again and no one is there to help?”   
  


“You said you summoned it last night, you ever going to tell me how?”

“I don't know how”

Joey looked so distraught and stressed that Chris dropped the subject. Which easily brought up Joey's attitude. They had other business anyways.

“This spirit that is going after JC, what are we gonna do if it gets ugly?”

Chris said, Joey seemed a little surprised at this notion. 

“We? You mean you right? Can't you just throw him in the chamber?”

“If JC gets lost, if he goes too deep into the dark then I might not be able to get him out” 

The waitress circled back around again. She tucked a piece of blonde hair behind her ear, snatching her pen at the same time. 

“You ready to order?”

Chris rattled off his order. Joey hummed, his head bouncing this way and that. 

“I’ll just have a chocolate shake and a cheeseburger with onion rings, thank you” 

Their waitress whose name tag had some sort of dessert esque smudge, smiled, and then whisked off back to the kitchen. 

“Do you still know that spell that always gets JC to shut up?”

Joey’s mood dropped again. 

“I’m not gonna use any magic for awhile”   
  


Chris blew some bubbles in his water. Trying to keep his eyes from rolling. 

“Joey, no offensive but I've seen you dye your hair with flower nymphs” 

“And that's why it's so red, what? You want me to use box dye?”   
  


Joey said moving his hands as he spoke. 

“I’m serious, what I did last night, Chris, I know you said it scared you, but it scared me”

Chris raised his eyebrow.

“Ten minutes ago you were acting like it didn't bother you at all, what's the deal?”   
  


Joey sighed. Trying to find the proper words to explain the events of last night.

“Okay I've been practicing summoning. Because I'm a half and half, summoning should be really difficult for me. A couple days ago I tried summoning a fate fairy, they are pretty small guys and well tempered for fey, plus in that book you gave me it says they are good for beginners”

“So what happened?”   
  


“I was able to summon one really easily, no problem at all. Last night I wanted to summon something bigger, I didn't have a plan, I didn't mean to summon such a powerful fairy, and Chris, that fairy was one of the big ones. Currently I imagine the entire fey ecosystem is in a downward spiral because of us”   
  


Joey finished by punching each word with fear and intensity. 

“Joey, you had to have just fucked up the summoning spell, because they only way you would be able to summon a fey that powerful was if you-”

Chris stopped mid sentence. His eyes going wide with realization. Suddenly a lot of things about Joey made sense. How he had absolutely no family no matter how hard they looked, why he was able to use magic endlessly without ever tiring, his knack for casting spells and throwing together hex bags without knowing what he was actually doing. But what had puzzled them all for so long were Joey's wings. 

Which were bigger than any fairy wings they had ever seen, more intricate in design, in color palette and even the way they shone in different lights was unusual. The boys always chalked up his wings to having both human and fey blood. 

“You have to be kidding”

“Assholes!” Joey said arms going up in the air.

“Assholes!”

Chris said in agreement. 

“Dude thats, what are you going to do? We are going to be in so much trouble”   
  


“We? If they find out that I am some estranged royalty who took down a whole ass fucking fey GOD, they are going to do some fucked up shit to me, it was instinctual, I just knew who he was” 

  
Joey leaned back in the booth. Closed his eyes, not wanting to think about anything, hoping that things would work out for him. He tried to be more optimistic, thinking that even if this was a shit situation, he could at least find out more about his parents. 

“Let’s ignore you being next in line for the fey throne, like how you were already ignoring it, and just focus on keeping JC’s mouth shut” 

Chris said as the waitress came back with their shakes. 

“Hey man, we’ve been through worse”

Joey’s face flashed with a shimmer of hope. He picked up his shake, raising it against Chirs’s glass. 

“Cheers to that” 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been in a writing slump so I took break and pumped out whatever this. The next chapter should have much more beef and also JC but I guess he is beef

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said in the description this is based in a niche genre, like there is a kind of formula to how Im trying to write each chapter. Don't take this too seriously. Please pretend you found this in the clearance section of your dollar store. I have been having such a hard time writing on my bigger more serious projects, so this is a much needed break.


End file.
